Oblivion
by einah26
Summary: After Destiny, Maria and Liz try to blow off some steam but instead end up confronting Max and Michael in the desert. The summer between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2.


Title: Oblivion  
Rating: T  
Pairing: Michael and Maria, little bit of Liz and Max too.  
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Belong to Katims and Metz.  
Summary: After Destiny, Maria and Liz try to blow off some steam but instead end up confronting Max and Michael in the desert. The summer between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2.

Oblivion

Friday, the last day of school.

"Oblivion ladies and gentleman is something to think about, imagine being completely forgotten" Mr. Oats finished just as the bell rang. Maria and Liz got up from their seats and walked out into the hallway. Coming back to school had been a challenge, after the whole destiny thing. Alex, Liz and Maria had been keeping to themselves as much as possible waiting for school to be over.

Maria walked up to her locker while Liz leaned against the closed ones. Maria continued her rant "I mean, how depressing is that? To be forgotten. It would be like –BOOM- you were never here and you never mattered." Just as the words rolled out of Maria's mouth, the pod squad came walking by. Liz turned to face Maria to avoid any awkwardness that would be there. Seeing Max with Tess was almost too much to bear. Maria turned around and stole a glance of Michael and Isabel. She turned to Liz after they had passed by and said. "They are going to forget us, aren't they?" Liz closed her big brown eyes. "I think they already have." The bell rang. One more class.

"Two Tommy Lee Jones, hold the tomato on one" Liz called into the kitchen. Maria was in the back taking a break when they walked in. Max and Michael, alone. She hadn't seen them without the girls in weeks. She quickly snuck into the back to get Maria. Whispering she called for her "Maria, Maria…where are you?" Maria walked down the stairs singing. "Maria, where were you?" She whispered. "I was laying down for a sec, and why are you whispering?" Maria said fixing her hair and tying her apron back on. Liz rolled her eyes at Maria, "They are out there." Maria ran up to the small circular window and looked through, "Oh God, they are alone too, I'll rock-paper-scissors you for who has to wait on them." Liz weighed her odds in her head for a moment and then decided to take a chance.

"What can I get you" Maria drawled out as fast as she could. "Hi Maria" Max said politely to her. She didn't look up from her tablet. She couldn't take the chance that her eyes would meet with Michael's. She put up a good front but inside, inside every time she saw him her breath escaped her. Finally after what seemed like hours of standing there Michael spoke "I'll just have a MIB Basket". To her, this seemed like an insult. He couldn't say anything to her, just bark an order. She looked up at him rolled her eyes and walked away.

In the backroom Liz was standing nervously waiting for Maria. What would they say to her? Would they try and make conversation or just order and be done with it? Max wouldn't do that, he is too nice even if he did break her heart. Maria pushed through the door with her usual fervor. Liz jumped forward "What happened? What did they say?" she asked anxiously. Maria threw her notepad on the ground in frustration. "Nothing, Michael wants a hamburger. A freaking hamburger! We saved his life and took care of him and he wants a hamburger? Oh, Miss Liz Parker that is it-we are officially getting over them now. We are going to go out tonight and raise some hell. Paint this town red." Maria walked into the kitchen and yelled the order to Jose. She walked back out to Liz with purpose "They aren't going to believe the good times we are going to have!" With that Maria walked out of the backroom, leaving Liz a bit confused and just a little excited. Her Maria was back.

Later that night, Liz was sitting on her balcony writing in her journal.

_I just can't believe that this is it and that he is okay with us being nothing more than awkward acquaintances. I am trying not to be mad because I told him to go after his destiny but this is just too much—can I take it back? Can I tell him to be with me and never leave? He saved me that day in the Crashdown in more ways than one. I felt alive. I felt in charge. And now I just feel like an idiot. _

Maria burst through Liz's bedroom door and stuck her head outside. "Come on Chica, we're getting out of here." Liz looked over at Maria who was wearing one of her usual off the wall outfits. Gold Mesh top, a million jelly bracelets, dark black pants. She always knew how to make them feel better. Maria yelled "Get in here; you need to get out of whatever it is that you are wearing." Liz smiled at Maria, and climbed inside.

They got into the Jetta; Maria put the car in reverse and started to back up. "Wait" Liz said "Where are we going?" Maria pulled a little forward and put the car in park. "Well I was thinking that we could go to that end of the year party out in the desert tonight, there'll be tons of hot guys and tons of girls to make fun of and you know the pod squad won't be there." Liz looked out the window trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. Maria continued on "Liz, we need this. We cannot lose all this time being sad-"Liz interrupted. "I am not sad." Maria looked at her best friend and knew she was lying because she had said the same lie to herself a million times over. "Liz, you are sad. I am sad. I cry over him everyday and I am sick of it. He doesn't love me like I love him and if we don't start moving on or at least trying we are going to be stuck forever." Maria put the car in reverse and drove out of town.

They arrived at the party a little after ten; there were already a bunch of people there from school. Maria took her seat belt off and turned to Liz. "We are going to have a good time tonight Liz Parker, even if it kills us."

"Maria, there are a lot of hot guys here." Liz yelled forward at her friend over the loud music on their way to the keg. After much back and forth they decided that drinking at a high school party was basically a rite of passage and had to be done. Maria turned around to face Liz "I am so proud of you!" She yelled back and gave her a big hug. "For what?" Liz asked. "You are like noticing that there are other guys in the world besides Max Evans." Liz smiled at her; she was getting quite a buzz on this awful tasting stuff. "Yeah, screw him." Maria's eyes opened wide in shock "WOOO that is my girl!"

They had been dancing next to the fire for so long that Maria could barely feel her feet. "I need to take these shoes off. Let's take a break" She yelled over at Liz who was lost in the music. "K!" The girls walked off a little ways to sit down and maybe finally go to the bathroom when they saw Max's Jeep parked about a quarter mile away. Maria took one look at it and screamed "Are you kidding me?! One night is all I ask for away from all that crap and there it is slapping us in the face." Liz plunked down on the sand too tired to sit up any longer. Maria joined her soon after.

"Maria?" Liz asked. "Yeah Liz" Maria answered. "Tonight has been really fun. Thanks for getting us out." Maria rolled over onto her side to face Liz. "I'm still sad though. I've never been in like real love before besides like JTT but that was TV love which I think is totally different. I think I really love him and that's what makes it so hard. I always pictured my first love would kind of a mutual thing" Maria giggled at herself. Things were hardly ever what she expected nowadays. Liz rolled to her side as well so they were facing one another, the exhaustion from a long day and a long summer was starting to creep up. "I know what you mean. When I see him I can barely think about anything else. I just didn't think that he would break my heart". Just as the word came out of Liz's mouth they saw a bright flash of light above their heads. Liz jumped to her feet. "Did you see that Maria?" Maria was on her feet in two seconds. "Yeah, I hope no one else saw. I'll go check the party and see if anyone is talking about it."

Maria was back within a few minutes and reported that no one seemed to notice anything. "Should we go over there?" Liz inquired. "Hell yes" was all Maria needed to say and they were off. Maria continued "Two intoxicated girls trying to bust a few Czechoslovakians in the middle of the desert, what's the worst that could happen?"

Meanwhile, Max and Michael had decided to try and use the orbs to get some more information. They couldn't do it at the Evans and Michael's neighbors were sick of all the noise all the time. The desert felt like a second home to them, they had spent so many nights out here pondering where they came from, where they will go, and lately how they will do it all. Max had suggested holding the orbs and concentrating like with the healing stones. They stood that way for a few minutes when all of a sudden an intensely bright beam of light shot up from each one of the orbs and mixed together up into the heavens. The light only lasted for a few seconds but it was bright enough for people to see with the naked eye for miles away. "Maxwell what was that? Michael questioned. Max turned to Michael with a shock and worried look on his face, "I have no idea".

Liz and Maria walked over a large hill to see Max and Michael sitting on a rock looking up into the sky. Maria looked to Liz, "Isn't this perfect-they are star gazing together". Liz chuckled at Maria just hard enough to trip over her own foot and come barreling down the hill just a few feet from Max and Michael. Maria came running down after her half laughing half concerned. "Liz, babe are you okay?" Liz rolled onto her back, looked up at Maria laughed and said "I think I broke my ass." This was too much for Maria to handle; Liz was not one to swear like ever. And especially swearing for the sake of a joke was a new and refreshing thing to hear. "Ass, huh?" Max asked walking over to her.

Liz jumped up off the ground and brushed the sand off her. "Max." Maria stood next to Liz staring at the two boys. They had come to find them but that was about as far as the plan went.

Michael rose an eyebrow to them "Yep, that's his name. Good old Max." Maria was not going to tolerate any of his attitude. "Hey Buddy, nice light show you provided half of the school that is just over that hill. Nice one, really. Super smooth." The sarcasm in Maria's voice was just enough to set Michael off.

"What were you doing over there with half the school Maria? Were you having a good time? Or were you just following us? Michael retorted. Maria snapped.

Maria yelled back at him, "We were trying, we were trying for once, one time in six months to have fun, to do something that did not revolve around your identities, and secrets and lies. But no, ZOOM up into the sky is a constant reminder that our lives will never be the same. Before all of this every day I thought about myself first-me Maria Deluca was number one. That's not possible anymore. We will never be the same! Things will never go back to normal! We will not be ourselves ever again! And the worst part is that we were fine with that. We accept that everything about our lives has changed because of a decision that Max made but you didn't or couldn't accept it.

Michael moved closer to Maria, trying to intimidate her. He continued on, "No one asked you to be involved."

Maria spat back at him with all the passion she could muster and all the hurt she had been feeling since he left her in the UFO museum. "No Michael, no one asked us to be involved we just are. I will feel like this forever and I will never go back to normal. You ruined me. You ruined all of us. You think that this great destiny that we keep hearing about is the end all be all for you four but the truth is you have no idea. The one sure thing in your lives is gone and you welcomed that change. Look at Liz, I had to take her out here and get us drunk to see her smile. I used to not go five minutes without seeing her smile." Maria turned her attention to Max. "You know that girl you fell in love with watching at the Crashdown—was she this girl in front of you? The sad one that can't get past that she did something cosmically wrong in her life to deserve this kind of pain?

Michael turned away from Maria, Max looked down at the ground knowing that everything she had just yelled at them was true.

Maria finished with tears in her eyes. "It's sucks huh? To have someone say exactly what they are thinking exactly when they are thinking it with no regard for anyone else's feelings. I only hope that you can be as heartless in the future as you have been in the past few months so that you don't have to feel a fraction of the pain that I have felt in my heart every single day." She tried with all her might to blink away the tears away. To be strong, not only for herself but for Liz.

With that Maria grabbed Liz's hand and walked back up the hill. The tears had been streaming down Liz's face during Maria's entire meltdown. She didn't know if it was the honest words or seeing Max again or worst of all if it was both. She knew that Maria was right, that they would in some ways never recover from the knowledge they had acquired such a short time ago. That on her wedding day she would think of Max, when she had her first child she would think of Max, when she laid in bed on a warm summer night he would occupy her thoughts. This was the truth, the hard painful truth.

Maria held onto Liz's hand for dear life walking around the party trying to find someone sober enough to drive them home. Back to reality, back to the town that was filled with memories of this short but wonderful period of pure bliss. There was no one, everyone was too drunk or too busy sucking face to drive them out of there.

Michael and Max stood in relative silence for what seemed like forever. Maria's words had infected Michael's mind. Did he ruin her life? Max couldn't get over the look on Liz's face, she looked broken and it was all his fault. Finally Michael broke the silence.

"Max, I don't know if I can live with it."

Max was slightly confused. "Live with what?"

"Ruining her life."

"Unfortunately Michael, I think you already have. I think _we_ already have."

Maria and Liz debated for some time whether or not they could just live in the desert instead of asking for a ride home. They got too tired and finally caved and hiked back over to Max and Michael.

"We need a ride." Was all Liz said. There were no words that they could say to each other in that moment. They piled into the Jeep, the words of Maria hanging stiffly in the night air.

A song came on the radio and Max turned it up in an effort to drown out the silence. Max tried to steal glances at Liz in the rear view mirror and realized that Maria was right and he hadn't noticed the change in her face. She looked like a different person; she probably even was a different person.

The song began.

I'm only pretty sure that I can't take anymore

Maria looked out the side of the Jeep, wondering how they got there and if there was anything any of them could do to get back.

Before you take a swing

I wonder what are we fighting for

If only they didn't know what they were fighting for. These two young girls were fighting for love and they had tried their best and still failed. The two young men were searching for an identity, for a sense of belonging.

When I say out loud

I want to get out of this

They all told themselves that this was it. They were done. If only that were the whole truth. No matter what it always felt like there was more to come.

I wonder if there is anything

I'm going to miss

Michael sat in the passenger seat, running the lyric over and over in his head. There would be something he would miss. Something that he could never forget, someone that had saved him from his awful world. And he had ruined her, in her own words ruined her. How could he ever imagine to make up for that?

I wonder how it's going to be

When you don't know me

How it's going to be

When you're sure I'm not there

How's it going to be

None of them knew what would happen after that night. None of them knew how they would cope, what they would decide to fight for and more importantly who they would fight for.

When there's no one there to talk to

Between you and me

Cause I don't care

How's it going to be

How's it going to be

The weather was gorgeous, the kind of night that made wonderful memories. Max drove as slow as he could without being noticed to try and buy some time. Time to figure out what to do. He knew what he wanted and that always was and will be Liz but the destiny of an entire race was on his shoulders. Could he just forget that for her?

Where we used to laugh

There's a shouting match

Sharp as a thumbnail scratch

Michael smiled thinking of his Maria, the Maria he had left at the UFO Museum. Sharp, that was her. Her whole persona was sharp.

A Silence I can't ignore

Like the hammock by the

Doorway we spent time in swings empty

Don't see lightning like last fall

If only they could go back, back to before everything got so out of control. Before destiny, before the FBI when they were just kids falling in love.

When it was always about to hit me

I wonder how it's going to be

When it goes down

How's it going to be

When you're not around

How's it going to be

A tear ran down Liz cheek. She wasn't ready to give up. She wasn't ready for him to leave; she wasn't ready for any of it. And something about tonight felt final, felt like they were ending this whole wonderful mess.

When you found out there was nothing

Between you and me

Cause I don't care

How's it going to be

And how's it going to be

When you don't know me anymore

And how's it going to be

This night that started out so wonderful, a chance to start fresh and let loose became a night that would change their lives forever. Deep down they knew that they wanted to be more than a faint memory to each other but the path that they were going down could only lead one place.

Want to get myself back in again

The soft dive of oblivion

I want to taste the salt of your skin

The soft dive of oblivion

Oblivion

The word echoed in Maria's head. Just a day ago the word haunted her and now it was doing it again. Would they be remembered? Would he still hold a place in his heart for her? She knew that she would never forget the way he made her feel that night in the Crashdown, those hot days in the Eraser room, or the night in her room when she knew she loved him.

How's it going to be

When you don't know me anymore

How's it going to be

How's it going to be

How's it going to be

How would it be? Tomorrow would things be different? Had Maria's words started the end of the beginning? The feeling of sitting in that Jeep all together closing in on Roswell with the night almost coming to an end was indescribable. A kind of feeling that sits up between your heart and your throat and feels like it will never go away until it does and then you kind of miss it.

Before they knew it the song was over and Max was pulling up behind the Crashdown so Maria and Liz could sneak up her fire escape. Max turned the key to the ignition. Liz contemplated saying something before climbing out of the Jeep. There was nothing to say besides "Thanks." Max smiled at her to accept her thanks. Maria wiggled out of the back, her sobriety starting to return.

Both girls had exited the car and stood at the base of the ladder reaching up to Liz's balcony. They turned to take one last look at Max and Michael, both desperately hoping that someone would say something. Something that would give them a little shred of hope that things weren't completely over between them. The noise of the Jeep starting scared both of them. Max backed up and began to drive off.

Maria jumped up to the ladder and pulled it down to climb up. Liz stood so very still watching Max drive away. She tried briefly to convince herself that he wasn't driving away from her. She begged him in her mind to look back, to stop the car, to change his mind, to understand that what they had doesn't come around everyday. Certainly in her life no one has ever made her feel the way that he does.

But he didn't turn around. He didn't stop the car. He drove off into the night, the perfectly beautiful night. She let one final tear drop down her cheek.

Max and Michael drove away from the Crashdown, Max torn up inside and Michael trying to fight whatever nagging feeling was in his chest. Max drove past Michael's apartment.

"Where are you going?" Michael asked.

"We need to have a meeting." Max said.

The determined sound in Max's voice was enough for Michael not to question anything. Max drove to pick up Tess. She needed just a little coaxing to come with them. Her desperation to make Max love her was so obvious, even to Max. They drove to get Isabel. She argued and wanted to know what this was all about but she finally gave in. The four of them drove out to the reservoir where Max knew they would not be overheard.

"Okay, we're here. Now what is going on?" Isabel yelled at her brother.

Max took his time to gather his thoughts before saying "I don't think I believe in our destiny." The look on all of their faces was a mix of shock and confusion.

"I don't think it's a matter of believing it or not Max, it just is." Tess argued.

"No, I don't think so. I don't think that this destiny took into account that we are part human. That we are erratic." Max looked to Michael. He continued on "That we are not guided simply by logic, we have feelings. How could we possibly know what we are supposed to do or who we are supposed to be?"

"Max, what happened tonight?" Isabel asked with concern.

Michael exhaled loudly and turned around to face the water. Isabel lifted her eyebrows at her brother to spill. "We went to the desert to try and make the orbs work and ran into Liz and Maria."

"Them-again Max? I thought that we were passed this." Tess angrily yelled at Max.

Of all people Michael came to Max's defense. "None of us were passed this, besides you Tess." This was the truth, Isabel never stopped dreaming of Alex, Max was consumed with thoughts of Liz and Michael, well Michael fought loving Maria every step of the way but nevertheless he loved her.

Michael didn't try to be mean; it just came off that way most of the time. "I think what Michael means is that we had started things before you got here and it's not easy to let them go." Max explained.

"What about home Max?" Isabel reasoned. "I mean the whole reason we tried this is to find home, to find our mother. What if we give up on this destiny thing and we never find them?"

Max walked to his sister and put his arm around her. "Look what has happened since that day in the Crashdown, we found out all of this information about ourselves and home with their help. I don't think that cutting them out of our lives was the right thing to do. Not after everything."

Isabel pulled away. "Then why did we do this? Why did we all have to say goodbye, to end things. God Max, Alex hates me now. Hates me! I can see it in his eyes every time I see him and for what? So that we could decide to follow our destiny long enough to mess up our lives here?"

Isabel walked away; the tears were starting to form in her eyes. She knew that Alex thought that she wanted to be with Michael. That she had only used Alex to try and fight her destiny. That wasn't true at all; she could never be with Michael. She could never kiss him or dance with him the way she did with Alex. He was the last person she saw herself with but somehow was the only person right for her.

Back in the group Tess had been trying to convince Max that he was wrong, that going back to the way things were would only put them in harms way again. "The humans are a liability, we don't need them."

With that comment, Max, Michael, and Isabel turned and walked towards Tess. She couldn't be more wrong.

"We only got caught by the FBI after you showed up Tess, before that we did pretty okay figuring things and staying safe." Isabel told her. "I know that we can trust them and only bad things have come from us not trusting them." She explained.

Tess had no interest in staying on Earth; her main objective had been made clear to her by Nasedo. Get the Royal Four back home. She didn't think that leaving the humans would be this much of a challenge. Somewhere deep inside her she felt a little jealous that she was not able to connect like they all had. She believed that at least Michael would be on her side but he was as far gone as Max and Isabel.

"You really are children. You think that your destiny is to fall in love and stay on Earth pretending to be human your whole lives?" Tess condescending said to them. "Our goal is not to play house here on Earth but to save our people-can you not understand that?"

"We understand just fine Tess" Max's voice was filled with anger. "We don't even know how to get back there, we don't know if there is anything to go back to-"

"MAX. Just stop." Tess yelled. "What do you all want, ignore our destiny? Wait here until the FBI finds us and kills us all? Great plan. I don't think that I am going to sit around and wait to die." Tess walked to the Jeep and sat there waiting to be taken home.

Michael looked at Max. "She's right Maxwell." But Max already knew this. He knew that the decision to stay away from Liz, Maria and Alex was right but it just felt so wrong. He broke her heart and was just going to have to live with it. Isabel chimed in "I hate all of this, I hate that who we are has to hurt all these people."

Max looked to Tess in the Jeep, he still felt that pull towards her that he couldn't explain. "Than we stick with the plan. This summer we stay away from all of them."

Max dropped Michael and Tess off at their houses and drove him and Isabel home. Isabel got out of the Jeep. Max stayed in the driver's seat. "Max, are you coming in?" Isabel asked. "Is, I just need to talk to her." Isabel nodded. She understood that this was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

Max drove to Liz's house, a smile across his face even though he knew that this would be the last time he would be able to see Liz in the way he needed to see her. He parked in the alley a ways down so that no one would see the Jeep and walked to see Liz. He just hoped that she was still awake.

As Max neared the ladder to Liz's balcony he saw a figure reaching up to get the ladder. He ran towards it and pushed the man out of the way making some noise in the process. He grabbed the person by the collar and pulled him up. "What are you doing? "He asked with force in his voice. "Max" Michael said, "Let go of me."

Max complied, "Michael, I thought we agreed to stay away." Michael arched an eyebrow up, "You're here too Maxwell." Max took a step back forgetting that he had also been breaking their new rule. "Well, yeah but-" Michael interrupted Max "But what Max? I need to tell her. I can't live with her hating me like that."

Max nodded his head to Michael. Not to give him permission, just to let him know that he understood his motives. Just above them Maria cleared her throat. The two aliens looked up to see Maria and Liz standing on the balcony.

Liz's eyes were red from crying. "You don't need to see me again Max, just say good bye." That was the meanest thing Liz had ever said to Max. She couldn't lose him again. They would have a wonderful night and he would be back with Tess in the morning. She wouldn't do that to herself.

"Liz, I need to talk to you" Max whispered up to her trying to make the least amount of noise as possible.

"About what Max? Has anything really changed from a couple hours ago?" Liz spoke down to him.

Max gave her that look, that soulful look that only those two could share. "It won't work Max. You know what you need to do and it's not fair to have me make that decision for you." She was right and he knew it. Liz climbed in her window and lay down on her bed.

Michael looked up the Maria, "Maria, I'm…"Michael couldn't find the words so instead he launched himself up the ladder before Maria knew what to do. He grabbed her face in his hands and pulled her close to him. He slowly moved closer to her, the heat between them undeniable and kissed her for only a moment but it was enough to make her knees weak. He pulled away and said "I'm sorry." With that he dropped down to the ground and walked away leaving Max there. Maria shook her head to try and bring herself back to reality. She called down to Max. "You should just go Max." And he did. He wasn't proud of himself.

Max drove himself back to the desert that night, sat in the pod chamber and cried for all that he lost that day. He lost his hope. He lost Liz. In return, he had a planet to save and a destiny to follow.

Maria climbed inside to console Liz. She curled up next to her best friend with tears streaming down her face. "Oh Lizzie, I miss him. I don't want to but I do. With every inch of my being I love him." Liz could barely speak. She had no tears left to cry. Over Maria's sobs she said, "Maria I need to get out of here."

The next day Liz left for Florida.

The future was uncertain, the only constant in their lives was the pain that they had caused each other to feel.

**The End**


End file.
